Third Impression
by LinSetsu
Summary: Obito, to his credit had never failed the Graduation Exam.


If anyone visisted my LJ, you may have already seen this. While taking a break from exam studying, I reread this oneshot and thought it was safe enough to post here. There's nothing much to say about it. I wrote it almsot a year ago and only recently tied a very rough knot and made it into an ending. Maybe sometime in the far future, I may add another little arc this, but no promises.

Your thoughts will be most welcome.

****

.-.-.-.-.

Third Impression

Obito, to his credit, had never failed the Academy graduation exam.

He entered at the age of five, and it was customary that the children remain in the Academy for about a minimum of two years. At this point, his teacher had deemed him as 'not quite ready', and although his parents – and the Clan – gave him hell and he'd been forced to spend a full night getting his ass kicked by his father in so-called training, most of his classmates had also stayed behind, so Obito hadn't been concerned. Only the exceptionally talented handful of children had graduated, but Obito had just made rude gestures behind their backs and declared that they could go off and become loners while he preferred to stay behind with his friends, like a true friend, and enjoy his carefree childhood longer.

At the time, he didn't quite understand why the Chuunin teacher hadn't given him detention on the spot for one, his rude gesture and two, for disrupting the class by stamping him foot on the desk and shouting out his thoughts. The instructor had looked at him with a mixed expression of a wistful, almost sad smile and pained eyes. It had made Obito incredibly uncomfortable and he uncharacteristically shrank back into his seat. And _then_ the teacher had given him detention.

The year after that, when Obito was eight, the Academy students experienced a lot of teacher interchange. The longest instructor they had had only lasted two months. The shortest was for five minutes. Chuunins that they had never before seen had frequently taken up some of their lessons and then promptly disappeared again. A lot of their classes had been made into self-study sessions as well, and Obito had found it particularly boring. He made up for the boredom by pulling more pranks, but he was often left unsatisfied when the adults barely gave him a second glance.

When he had asked his parents about the strange atmosphere in the Academy, the line of his father's mouth had thinned in displeasure. His mother froze in the middle of washing dishes and Obito suddenly felt that he had done something very bad.

"The War is closing in on Konoha," his father had replied in a tense voice, almost as if he was reluctant to physically voice that fact.

"Oh," he mumbled for lack of knowing what to say. He glanced up at his mother as she turned around and gave him a small shake of her head. 'Go to bed' the motion said. Obito knew that his question had made his father's mood dark, and as he didn't want that anger to land on him, he quickly slipped out of the room.

Later on that night, when he was walking back to his room from a trip to the bathroom, he overheard his parents' heated discussion. It was rare for the two of them to fight, so with brimming curiosity, Obito tip-toed towards their room and hid in the shadows of a large pillar, leaving a significant distance but close enough to overhear.

"You cannot expect everything out of him," his mother was saying.

"He is a part of the Village and as a potential ninja it is expected that he know the state of the War," his father retorted. "You saw him this evening; he has no idea that Konoha has to rely even on Academy teachers to keep up the frontlines. That kind of indifference is unacceptable – especially for one of the Uchiha Clan."

"He does not know because no one will tell him, and Hokage-sama wants to keep it this way. There is no need to scare them. You must remember that he is only an eight year old child."

There was a pause, and then his father spoke in such a cool, quiet voice that Obito had to lean forward to pick up his words. "There is an eight year old _shinobi_ up in those frontlines fighting and killing as we speak." Obito's head snapped up, his eyes wide.

"Hatake Kakashi is a genius among geniuses. Obito will never reach the level of that prodigy. You cannot compare the two."

Obito bit his lip to keep from shouting a retort of his own and instead walked back to his room with narrowed eyes and clenched fists. So what if he wasn't a born genius, prone to be showered with praises and proud pats on the shoulder; so what if this prodigy Hatake Kakashi was bravely fighting in the war. Obito hadn't failed the exam – the teacher had just held him back. He would prove himself capable of being in those frontlines by becoming a true ninja in the upcoming exams.

"_Hatake Kakashi_," he snarled as he dropped into his bed. "I swear I'll kick your petty arse someday."

No one graduated from the Academy that year simply due to the chaos and tension that filled the Village – there were no shinobi to spare in order to set up and oversee the graduation exams.

Obito's first impression of Hatake Kakashi was that he hated him.

.-.-.

The War had gotten steadily worse in the past few years and Konoha's forces were being brutally cut down. He had heard that since almost all capable Chuunin, Jounin and ANBU were fighting in the frontlines, Genin teams were being used to accomplish the missions up to even the B-ranking ones.

But as much as he loved and cared for the well being of the Village, his attention was now fully focused on his student. Konoha's Yellow Flash had seen countless shinobi break under the mental and physical strain of the War. Many managed to stand back up and keep fighting while others did not make it. He had never ever, however, been forced to witness one so young – a child! A _nine _year old_ child_! – come so close to snapping. In all honesty it frightened, no _terrified_, him.

Hatake Kakashi, like all other Chuunins, had been dragged into the War. The blonde Jounin's protest had been feeble, and even if Sandaime had shared his view, the Village could not. The Council had repeatedly waved his opposition aside, claiming that if the boy was ready to lead squads, he was ready to fight in the War – regardless of his age.

The Yellow Flash had thought that he would lose his student within the first few battles no matter how much he tried to protect him. But as each battle ended and he saw a living face under that tuft of silver hair, he felt relief and gratitude. The fear of losing Kakashi to death slowly changed over the three years to a fear of losing him to insanity. It was a gradual change, but one that was impossible to miss. The boy's eyes grew haunted and his face became strained. It was a look one would usually see on the faces of veteran shinobi, not on a child. He became far too paranoid and was unable to rest properly even in safe places quite some distance from the frontlines.

He now watched the boy, appearing to be sleeping, huddled between the thick roots on an ancient tree. But he knew better than to believe that, because the kunai in Kakashi's hand was gripped so hard that his knuckles were white under the cracked skin. He looked a mess. As if being covered with blood from head to foot was not enough, mud and ash were smudged against his face and his clothes were ripped and tattered. Bandages that had been fresh and clean the night before were now dyed brown and hung loosely from the boy's appendages. The Yellow Flash took note of this, for he would have to disinfect that nasty gash on Kakashi's upper arm before an infection took place.

He slowly approached Kakashi, making his presence known so as not to startle him. He knew the boy recognised his presence, but the muscles on that thin little arm still clenched, the kunai's blade being tipped ever so slightly to ensure an effective angle with which to drive the weapon into an enemy's throat. The Yellow Flash ignored the threatening aura that warned him not to come any closer and he sat down beside his charge.

"Go away sensei," Kakashi mumbled, not moving from his position with his face leaning on his knees. "Please."

"It's alright, Kakashi," he whispered, wrapping his arms around his student's small figure, easily pulling him into a warm embrace. "Relax, sleep. There's another two hours before we move again. So sleep. I'll be here to keep watch. Go to sleep, Kakashi."

The boy was tense under his arms but he didn't pull away. Only after half an hour did he finally slump against his teacher, his breaths becoming deep and slow, indicating that he had fallen asleep at last. But the Yellow Flash noticed that Kakashi's grip around the kunai hardly loosened. The boy was shaking, little, erratic tremors shaking his body, and he realised that it had taken all of Kakashi's self control just to suppress it.

The blonde Jounin could tell Kakashi's mind was slowly being crushed by the psychological burdens he was forced to bear.

.-.-.

The future Yondaime would be damned if he let this opportunity slip by.

Having been summoned by the Hokage, it was explained that the newly graduated Academy class had a team with only two members. Coincidentally, they were of the same age as the Jounin's single student.

"Of course, since the other two are freshly graduated, your team will be undertaking more D and C rank missions," Sandaime said. "This may be irritating to your current student, but there would be no other way around the problem of skill difference."

Both the Hokage and the Jounin left the obvious unspoken: Hatake Kakashi needed a break from the blood and death. As the leader of the Village, it would be unthinkable for Sandaime to pull Kakashi back simply because he thought the boy needed a break. Putting him in a new team was the best way to keep their true motive hidden – or at least, unspoken.

The blonde man nodded his agreement. "It will be a good opportunity for Kakashi to learn about teamwork," he said. "No doubt the rest of the team will also benefit from his experience."

"Indeed," the Hokage replied. "You are to meet your new team tomorrow in the Academy."

.-.-.

Obito was puzzled. Sure, he was overjoyed for having made Genin and ecstatic for having been placed on the same team with a beautiful, sweet girl. But why was it only the two of them? He had attempted to start up a conversation with the girl, who he found out was called Rin, and had asked that same question. She had only shaken her head in wonder and replied that she didn't know. Now the two of them waited in an empty classroom, Obito pacing to and fro, while Rin sat quietly in the front row.

When the door rolled open Obito twirled around and Rin looked up from the tabletop to see a tall blonde man standing there. His gaze moved slowly from one to the other, unhurried, calm and calculating. When it turned to look at Obito, he felt as if those sharp blue eyes were seeing right through him, making him shuffle his feet in discomfort, but he didn't look away. Then the man suddenly smiled, a warm, radiant smile, and he beckoned them out of the classroom.

"I'm your Jounin sensei," he explained as they walked cautiously towards him. "I'll take you to meet your third team mate, and then we can settle down to introductions. Follow me."

Obito, as much as he wanted to burst out with questions, held his tongue – though he had to bite down onto it to succeed. There was something about the Jounin that was different from the Academy teachers. His voice was calm and confident, not demanding respect or obedience, but containing an unuttered warning of what would happen if he became too displeased. As Obito trailed two paces behind him, he looked up and idly wondered if anything could get blonde hair to look that _vibrant_. It almost made him blink by just glancing at it for too long.

The Jounin did not speak again as he led them out of the Academy, through the Village and towards the training grounds. His two new students shared the silence, though Obito began to fidget and twitch once in a while, itching to open his mouth. But he didn't want his teacher to think that he was obnoxious and childish. He was finally getting a chance to prove himself to his parents and the Uchiha Clan.

From what little he knew about the girl, he was quite confident that he was stronger than her. The mystery of the third Genin was bugging him, but he convinced himself that the other member would not be very strong – after all, if he needed special training to just keep up with the Academy schooling, then he couldn't be all that good. Maybe he was an older Genin dropout. Obito felt himself grow more confident. He would be able to boast to his parents that he was the strongest of his team. He grinned.

When they reached the edge of the forest in Arena Three Training Field, the Jounin stopped and tilted his head to look up. Obito thought he was staring at the sky.

"Kakashi, come down," the blonde called.

Obito stiffened and a frown pulled his face. Kakashi? It couldn't be…

Without a rustle, a boy dropped down from the nearest tree and landed silently in front of their teacher. Obito stared. The boy looked no older than himself and the silver hair was almost as striking as the dark mask he wore over the lower half of his face. When he glanced at Obito and Rin, his eyes reflected indifference and…was that mockery or distain? He then looked up at the blonde Jounin, who smiled and gave a nod. Then the boy turned to fully face them, his eyes roaming over each of them in turn as if sizing them up.

"You three will be making up this team from today," their teacher began. "Since you are obviously not familiar with each other, let's have some introductions. Kakashi?"

"Hatake Kakashi," was all the silver haired boy said in a cool tone of voice.

But that was all he needed to say.

Rin drew in a sharp intake of air and then quickly covered her mouth in embarrassment. Obito's mind was a mixed frenzy. He was shocked, angry, jealous, amazed and annoyed all at once. His tongue wasn't working and he didn't seem to have enough faces to portray all of his flashing emotions. But one thing was becoming crystal clear – an unquenchable urge to land one satisfying punch in that bastard's face was bubbling furiously in his chest.

There were only several metres between them and Obito covered it in two bounds, his right arm raised and pulled back, his hand clenched tightly. A snarl rose in his throat and he swung his fist with all the force and speed he could gather. "You son of a – !"

The next thing he saw was the ground coming up very quickly to his face. Too quickly. He was slammed down into the hard dirt, the breath knocked clean from his lungs and the edge of the goggles dug painfully into his face. He gasped for air as he realised that his right arm was twisted sharply behind his back and a none-too gentle knee was twisting agonizingly into his spine. His other hand was trapped under a foot at his side. When he managed to twist his face to the side he was alarmed to find the cold blade of a kunai being pressed lightly into his neck. He froze instinctively.

"Kakashi!" a sharp voice cracked and it took Obito a second to realise that it was their Jounin sensei. His tone was no longer calm but cold and demanding. "Put it away, _now_."

The kunai withdrew and the weight on his back eased away until he found himself free again. Rubbing his twisted shoulder, Obito sat up and saw their teacher giving Kakashi a hard look while the boy slipped the weapon back into his holster. Rin watched in stunned silence.

"Kakashi, we've had this discussion before," the Jounin said, his eyes still fixed on the silver haired boy.

"It did not include the scenario of either of them attacking me," Kakashi responded in an even tone. "Teamwork can only be accomplished if the members understand the pecking order."

Obito scowled as he leapt to his feet, pointing an accusing finger at the other boy. "Why the hell are you speaking as if you're better than me?" he shouted. "You're not even as _tall_ as I am and you have the nerve to talk _down_ on me like that! Just who do you think you are?"

"Obito-kun, wait, I don't think – " Rin began quietly, but Kakashi cut in.

"You must be a fool or an idiot," he said coolly. "You are clearly weaker than I am so it's only natural that you obey your superior."

"Superior?" Obito spat. "You're a Genin just like me. How does – "

"Chuunin."

Obito paused, his brows pulling together. "What?"

"I'm a Chuunin."

"Liar!"

"What profit will I have from lying to an idiot?"

"I'm not an idiot! Chuunins receive a vest to show their status. Don't you even know that? Who's the idiot now, huh? You're just bluffing!"

"So the saying is true. The more cowardly they are the more they tend to bark."

Obito gritted his teeth, wanting to pound the living daylights out the stuck-up, arrogant bastard. He was getting ready to do just that when a strong voice interrupted.

"That'll do, both of you," the Jounin said. "Obito, it was wrong of you to attack a team mate without reason. Kakashi, don't you raise a weapon against a comrade like that again. Am I understood?"

Obito scowled and turned his eyes to the ground but nodded. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Kakashi nod as well. Then their teacher blew out a small sigh and then smiled again.

"Now then, let's keep going with the introductions."

With the Yellow Flash sitting effectively between the two boys, the rest of the introductions finished peacefully. Obito, still scowling and looking deeply disgruntled, sat and glared at a small pebble at his feet. Rin knelt gracefully beside their teacher, occasionally glancing at Kakashi, though she tried to be discrete. Kakashi stood a few metres away from the others, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against a tree.

Obito growled softly under his breath as he raised his glare to fix it on the source of his frustration. _He_ was the reason his parent's didn't acknowledge him. _He_ was the subject of everyone's praise. _He_ was the centre of attention. And Obito? Obito was left, unattended and unwanted in the corner. It was all _his_ entire fault! Obito hated Kakashi – had hated him from the second he heard his father mention him with grudging pride and his mother talk about him like an ideal son.

Obito's second impression of Kakashi was little different from his first, except that he had a few things to add to the list. Kakashi was an egotistic, cold, silent, snotty, arrogant, stuck up little show-off know-it-all who viewed all other humans as below worms. _Boy_ did Obito hate his guts.

But as he glowered at his new team-mate-from-hell, he began to notice a few things about him. The way his dark eyes seemed to hold something deeper – had seen things that Obito could not start to imagine. The way his muscles were more developed than any kid their age. The way his arms were tense, his shoulders stiff, like someone trying to repress a shiver. The way his hitai-ate was worn and tattered, proving the years he had already spent in Konoha's service.

Obito's glare softened a little and his frown eased as he subconsciously summarised his third impression of Hatake Kakashi. Maybe there was more to being a genius than just the sweet praises. And maybe, just maybe, Kakashi's arrogance was simply a way to mask something else.

.-.-.

Kakashi was not impressed with what he saw.

They had successfully made it through their teacher's bell test, but not without several close misses – misses that would have gotten them all killed in the field. Kakashi had, after some thought, realised what the Yellow Flash had wanted from them in that particular exercise. He had crouched and watched the Uchiha in all his stupidity trying to snatch the bell from the Jounin. Needless to say, it was all just a waste of his stamina and a waste of Kakashi's time.

By the time Kakashi had managed to get the Uchiha to listen to him, it was almost too late. The girl was easy to deal with, as she seemed willing to follow his orders and remained quiet – not to mention _still_ – while he spoke to them. Obito's constant questioning and needless suspicions had been irritating to deal with. He had just hoped that his performance in well-planned battle was a little better, but the way he had fought so straight forward against the Yellow Flash had Kakashi's hopes utterly crumbled.

He was not disappointed.

Not only could the idiot not follow their plan correctly, he had kept interfering Kakashi in the worst possible moments, making their job ever the more complicated. It was nothing he couldn't deal with, but it had felt like he was fighting with a kunai jabbed into his side. Speaking of kunai, the Uchiha had a lot to learn about throwing them correctly and _accurately_.

The girl was not much better. She was intelligent and obedient, but she desperately lacked the combat skills. He mentally marked her as one who would soon be deceased when they returned to the frontlines. That impression had changed slightly at the end of the day when she showed her area of expertise to heal some of Obito's scratches. Nevertheless, she was going to have to improve in order to stay alive.

Obito was another problem altogether. For all the bragging he did, Kakashi's decision to mark him as the Uchiha dropout did not change. He had a short temper, which was never a good thing for a shinobi, since he would act according to his emotions, which was nearly suicidal. His intelligence was as good as a todler's and he would have been considered extremely skilled in a 'let's pretend to be ninja' game.

All Kakashi saw in him was a spoiled little boy raised in the comfort and security of his family with no knowledge of the true duty of shinobi.

"Don't be so harsh on them, Kakashi."

The boy looked up to see his teacher landing silently on the roof beside him. Kakashi preferred to sit outside on the roof of his apartment than inside where he could almost hear the neighbours talking about him.

The blonde sat down next to him and then leaned back on the sloping roof, cushioning his head with his hands.

"They're almost useless, sensei," Kakashi said.

"They're fresh out of the Academy, it's to be expected. Even I was beaten senseless by Jiraiya-sensei when I was a Genin."

"They'll be killed."

"Not if we protect them."

"We can't protect anyone in that battle."

"Then we'll stay away from the frontlines until they improve."

Kakashi turned to throw a frown at the Yellow Flash. "They're going to make us do low rank missions instead of fighting for the war?"

The Jounin sighed. He had known his young prodigy would object to it. He wouldn't complain and he would never even try to go against the orders, but that sharp tone of disapproval was definitely in his voice. The boy was sometimes too wise for his own good.

"It cannot be helped, Kakashi," he said. "You have to have a little patience. They'll catch up soon, and maybe even quicker if you give them a hand. This is a good lesson on teamwork for you."

His student said nothing, but he could practically feel the waves of discontent rolling off his body. He withdrew one hand from under his head and snagged the back of Kakashi's shirt, pulling him down next to him. Kakashi grunted in aggravation and then growled when the blonde rolled onto his side and roughly tousled his pale hair.

"Sensei!" he snapped, managing to fling his strong arm away. He attempted to sit up but was instantly snatched back down. He glared into that happily smiling face.

"Relax, little one," the Yellow Flash said softly. "Look beneath the underneath and you'll find something that you overlooked today."

Kakashi was doubtful, but he knew better than to ignore the blonde's teachings.

.-.-.

Secretly, on some level of unconsciousness, Kakashi knew and understood the meaning behind his teacher's words even before Obito had died. It had been a gradual recognition of something beneath the Uchiha's obnoxious banter and ceaseless boasting, and an acceptance of a person for _who he was_ rather than _what he could do_.

Because Obito was everything Kakashi was not – Obito had everything Kakashi would never be able to attain.

Obito knew how to smile and laugh from the bottom of his soul, understood what his friends needed most, had the generosity to give and give and give, without ever expecting anything in return, was born with a courage worth more than strength, and above all, Obito a heart – and he _listened_ to it.

Sometimes, years later, when Kakashi spent hours upon hours just standing in front of the Memorial, he wondered why Obito had become a shinobi. He knew it was a foolish question with a blatant answer. But he still couldn't help but ponder…why?

Because shinobi are an embodiment of deceit itself and they are taught to kill their emotions before they even foster and when strength fails, there is nothing left. Shinobi are not meant to look out for their friends if it means endangering the mission. Shinobi are drilled to ignore what their hearts tells them, because the unpredictable spontaneity is too dangerous.

And Obito was purely everything a shinobi – everything Kakashi – was not.

It was illogical. Kakashi knew he would never be able to understand, but when he met a bouncing ball of blonde energy, a swooning pink bud and a dark haired bundle of repression, he thought that those three might possibly be able to solve the question.

Sometimes, first and seconds impressions are simply not enough. Sometimes you need to look from an opposite angle altogether. Then maybe, just maybe, you'll see something you've missed before.

.-.-.-.-.-.

.LinSetsu.


End file.
